Motorists traveling westbound on Interstate 494 in South St. Paul should prepare for major delays starting Sunday night.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation says at 8 p.m. Sunday, westbound I-494 will be down to a single lane between Bailey Road and 7th Avenue. The move will come as crews begin placing a barrier for a traffic switch to complete the I-494 bridge over Concord Street.

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Once crews complete their traffic shift by 5 a.m. Monday, MnDOT says westbound I-494 between Bailey Road and 7th Avenue will stay at two lanes for about a 30 days.

In addition to that lane reduction, MnDOT says the Maxwell Avenue ramp will also close and be detoured starting at 8 p.m. Sunday for about 30 days. The department says motorists should follow the detour of Bailey Road, eastbound I-494 and Lake Road to access westbound I-494 during the closures.

MnDOT also says the lane and ramp closures on westbound I-494 will likely create delays on adjacent routes, so motorists will want to plan ahead.

The closures and traffic shifts are part of a larger project where crews will widen, resurface and replace bridge joints on the Concord Street/Highway 156 bridge, and construct auxiliary lanes on westbound I-494 between Hardman Avenue to west of 5th Avenue, while also improving drainage and constructing noise walls, according to MnDOT.